Post navigation

Cellphone Radition Test Flawed

A government test used to measure the radiation people absorb from their cellphones might underestimate the levels to which most adults and children are exposed, according to a group of doctors and researchers whose stated mission is to promote awareness of environmental health risks they believe may be linked to cancer.

The reason for the discrepancy, the group says, is that the process to determine radiation exposure from cellphones involves the use of a mannequin model that they say approximates a 6-foot-2, 220-pound person. Because the model represents only about 3 percent of the population, the authors report, the test will not accurately predict the radiation exposure of the other 97 percent of the population, including children. The group is pushing for a new testing system to measure radiation exposure in a wider range of consumers.

“The standard for cellphones has been developed based on old science and old models and old assumptions about how we use cellphones, and that’s why they need to change,” said Dr. Devra Davis, former senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services under the Clinton administration and one of the report’s authors.

A different study cited in the report says a child’s bone marrow absorbs 10 times the radiation as an adult. The authors also raise questions about long-term side effects, such as infertility in males who carry phones in their pockets, an exposure unaccounted for in the traditional certification process.

The authors suggest an alternative certification process, one that uses MRI scans to test real humans, including children and pregnant women. Such an approach would provide exposure data on a “Virtual Family,” representing all ages, the authors say.

Americans typically have a ‘shoot first, ask later’ mentality. We advise caution since the risks are unknown. Put your phone into airplane mode before your child plays a game. If you child needs to talk on your phone, use speaker mode. If you are on your phone for more than 1 hour per day, use a headset. We recommend the wired headset – yes they are not as COOL as bluetooth but bluetooth also carries unknown risks. I use Mercola’s airtube headset: http://products.mercola.com/blue-tube-headset/